Chapter 9

September 19th. Beacon Academy. Dining hall.

Penny expertly moved through the mass of students. Her hands holding a tray stacked with some food, the sensors in her eyes working to find a place to sit. Truth be told, it wasn't that difficult to find a free spot for herself. But. She wasn't just looking for a place to sit. She was also looking for them, and the moment her visual sensors spotted them, she didn't hesitate to approach them.

"Hello, everyone!" She greeted the group of friends with a grin which perfectly fit her face.

"Hey." Jaune was the first one to greet her back, and did so with a smile.

Her pace quickened.

"Hello, Penny." Pyrrha was second to greet her.

"Hey!" Nora came third as she gave a big wave of her hand, her face embellished with a friendly grin. Some moments later, Ren following suit, only he did so with a gentle nod, and a welcoming glance.

"How's the day so far?" She asked as she sat down right beside Jaune.

"Pretty okay, I'd say." He was the first one to start. "Though Port's class was a chore to get through. Just like it always is, to be fair." He added with a chuckle.

Nora's eyes perked up. "Wait. We had a class with him today?"

Jaune snorted, amused. "Uh, yea, we did. Though I can't say I'm surprised you didn't know given how soundly asleep you were."

She rolled her eyes, her lips sporting a grin. "Oh, give me a break. I wasn't sleeping well last night. I was tired."

"Yea, because you were probably busy playing games on your scroll."

She crossed her arms under her chest, her eyes speaking of triumph. "Actually, I was watching videos too, just so you know," She said, and he couldn't help but face-palm.

"Right. Right. That just makes all the difference."

"Of course!" She chirped with unparalleled confidence which he honestly envied. "Besides, my scores remain good regardless if I sleep through a class or two, so it's no biggie!" She said, and he, well, he had to admit she was right.

As nonchalant, or even unruly as she seemed to be, especially with regards to her studies, she wasn't a bad student. Her scores a perfect proof of that. Sure, she had one or two tests she didn't do as well as she could, but over all, her scores were nothing to be ashamed of.

Basically, whenever Nora Valkyrie decided to study and use her smarts to solve the problems before her, like tests for example, she showed herself to be an aptly intelligent individual. Besides, her combat prowess more than made up for her rare hiccups regarding her studies.

"~Riiiiight, Jauney~?" She cocked her eyebrow at him, her expression not shy of shades of smugness.

He sighed, his smile dry but genuine. "Fine. You're right, I admit."

"Gotcha!"

He set his elbows firmly onto the table's surface. "Still, if watching videos and playing games throughout the night makes you tired the next day, just don't do it."

She clasped her hands and put them above her head in a mock gesture. "Yes, mama!" She even changed her pitch to a child-like one, and then snickered to herself, clearly amused.

He sighed again, and then nestled his chin into his hands.

Penny placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but her eyes were turned to Nora. "Though you perform well as a student, I have to side with Jaune here. You should never underestimate the importance of taking care of your own health. It's crucial for any one person, but a huntsman trainee especially so."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, and Jaune couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

"See? Your negligence is starting to make people worry about you. Better start doing something about it, wouldn't ya say?" And this time, it was his expression which spoke of gleeful smugness.

She rolled her eyes. "My health is as good as it gets. Or at least I haven't noticed any chinks in my spot as the strongest grimm-slayer Beacon has ever seen. Ya know? I bet for a big enough stack of pancakes, I could even out-muscle any and all grimm. Even the crazy ones Port like's to blabber about! I mean, maybe they do exist...hmm." She started to wonder.

Pyrrha chuckled to herself. "Just please, don't try in practice."

"I dunno. Maybe I will."

Penny gave her a concerned look. "I'd strongly advise against it. It would be incredibly dangerous. Plus, there really isn't any logical reason to even attempt out-muscling a grimm creature. It's much better to simply defeat it in a safe, efficient manner."

"I'm sure she was just joking." Jaune started, but the confidence in his visage seemed to waver. "I think."

Penny's expression seemed to relax. "That would be best. Besides, I'm quite certain there are people just in this Academy alone who could challenge you in strength. Like myself!"

Nora narrowed her eyes at her. "Are ya sure about that?"

Penny's confidence didn't waver. "I'm 99.9% sure I could outdo you in any strength contest," She said, and her tone didn't speak of any level of cockiness at all. Instead, all it spoke of was pure, unadulterated conviction that she was right.

Jaune glanced at her with a somewhat worried look on his face. Uh, yea, she definitely doesn't know what she's getting into. Even most guys wouldn't be able to-

"Okay, then! I challenge you to an arm-wrestling match!" Nora exclaimed, completely interrupting his train of thought.

"Ah!" Penny gasped, her hands balled into fists. "Really? How exciting! I've never arm-wrestled with anyone before!"

"That's just bad news for ya." Nora warned her, but if Penny was even remotely worried about it, she hid it perfectly. Be it as it may though, Nora slammed her elbow down on the table, and waited for Penny to get hold of her hand. When she did, she said, "Ren, you give us a go."

He sighed, but otherwise didn't complain. "Are both of you ready?"

"Yes!" They exclaimed in unison.

"…"

What followed was a moment of silence. In that moment, Jaune, Pyrrha, and even Ren, all had their eyes glued to the two girls, who were about to test their strength against one another. And even though none of them admitted it aloud, what they were most interested in was one, particular thing; could Penny actually pose a challenge to Nora? Well, they would soon find out as Ren parted his lips, and spoke that one word with some actual vigor behind it.

"Go!"

"Hraaa!"Nora roared like a wild animal, ready to end this in a heartbeat. However, her eyes grew wide as saucers when she noted; she couldn't even make her opponent's arm budge.

"Hmm, since I lack the experience I can't say for certain, but even so; you're probably really strong!" Penny complimented her, her face devoid of any sort of strain or struggle at all. Meanwhile, Nora's eyes were close to pooping out of their sockets, yet try as she might, she couldn't gain even an inch. In fact, she was slowly but steadily losing the contest as Penny-in no hurry at all-made the back of her hand touch the table. And the moment it did, she threw her hands up in the air.

"Hurrah! I won!" She exclaimed happily, while JNPR gang stared wide-eyed at her. "Thank you very much for this. I now know what it feels like to arm-wrestle with someone. It's a little bit fun I must say!" She chirped to still flabbergasted Nora, clearly appreciative about the chance to experience something new.

"…"

Then came a moment of silence.

"..."

It lasted a little longer still, before Nora splayed her arms out, exasperated. "How did you do that?!"

Penny blinked, and for a moment, she looked genuinely panicked. "Um, you know, genetics!"

"Must be," Jaune started the moment he came to. "Nora here is a walking powerhouse, but you won so easily, it's unreal. I don't think any amount of training can make you that strong," He said, but then Pyrrha decided to correct him a bit.

"I'd say it's genetics and hard effort. Right?"

"Yes!" Penny vigorously nodded her head, and even though the group of friends were still in bits of awe, they at least all agreed that Pyrrha's explanation must have been the right one. Well, Nora did have some wavering doubts, but nothing concrete. Then again, maybe she simply still struggled to cope with the fact that she was bested so easily. Maybe she simply remembered the times she didn't want to remember. But be it as it may, one thing was absolutely clear to her; she had a training arc to go through, or otherwise, she'd fail to live up to her self-made title of Nora 'How many legs can you break? All of them.' Valkyrie.